SB 973: Wildfire County Coordinator Program.

Existing law establishes the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force and requires the task force to develop a comprehensive implementation strategy to track and ensure the achievement of the goals and key actions identified in the states Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, as provided. Existing law requires, on or before March 1, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter, the task force to update the action plan.

The Budget Act of 2025 provided for a community hardening program in the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection that includes home hardening certification and a wildfire county coordinator program, appropriated $9,500,000 to the department to make available to the California Fire Safe Council for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program, and required the county coordinators to prioritize home hardening, defensible space, planning, and education for community-level wildfire mitigation efforts.

This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to (1) establish recommended standards for wildfire risk modeling and analysis tools, (2) develop guidance and tools related to wildfire risk assessments, (3) support the development, updating, or procurement of county-level wildfire risk assessments, and (4) develop guidance and templates for the creation or revision of county-level wildfire resilience prioritization and implementation plans, and accompanying guidance for integrating these plans with related wildfire resilience programs, as provided.

This bill would provide in code for the Wildfire County Coordinator Program to support county-level coordination of and capacity for wildfire mitigation, prevention, preparedness, and recovery activities, as specified. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with the California Fire Safe Council to administer and deliver the program. The bill would require the program to, among other things, establish capacity in participating counties to plan and execute specified activities in support of the Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, coordinate with specified state and local entities, and collect data on local mitigation and preparedness activities, outcomes, and costs, as provided.